Written by: Jill Koebel (she/her). Edited by: Etienne Maes (he/him). Summary: In Canada, both medication and surgical abortions are legal, but legality does not guarantee accessibility. Over 70% of abortions in Canada are provided in abortion clinics which tend to be located in large urban centers. The abortion pill mifepristone,…
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The SHORE Centre: Addressing Gaps in Canadian Abortion and Sexual Health Services
Written by: Jillian Schneidman (she/her), Jill Koebel (she/her). Edited by: Etienne Maes (he/him). Summary: The SHORE centre, located in the Waterloo region of Ontario, offers sexual health services, programs, and resources to their community. This article, inspired by a conversation with Executive Director of the SHORE centre TK Prichard (they/he),…
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Re-imagining Reproductive Justice through Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Discussions with Dr. Stephanie Begun
Written by: Jill Koebel (she/her). Edited by: Miles Llewellyn (they/them). Summary: The pandemic added fuel to the fire that is the state of the healthcare system in Canada. Researchers have been pushing for more interdisciplinary collaboration in the health and social service sectors, but logistical barriers make this challenging to…
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Abortion Narratives – Part 2
By: Zev (Ze/Zem). I was 15 when I found out I was pregnant. I was in an abusive relationship, and unable to realize how bad of a situation I was in. I was by myself when I read the results of the home pregnancy test. I started to cry because…
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Putting Patients First: Balancing the Conscience Rights of Physicians with Unimpeded Access to Abortion
Written by: Daphne Gilbert (she/her). Edited by: Etienne Maes (he/him). In the never-ending battle to secure safe, accessible, free, and unstigmatized abortion services, the conscientious and religious objections by physicians who refuse to participate in the “abortion decision” imperils our goal. Section 2(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and…
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What is an Abortion Doula? Insight from Amy Prescott
Written by: Tasha Falconer (she/her), Jill Koebel (she/her) Edited by: Etienne Maes (he/him). Summary: This article, based on a conversation with Amy Prescott (she/xe), an abortion doula with Abortion Support Services Atlantic (ASSA) in Halifax, NS, explains exactly what abortion doulas do. Amy also notes some common misconceptions and barriers…
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The case that’s been called the “Canadian Roe v Wade”: the history of Dr. Henry Morgantaler and abortion law in Canada
Written by: Jill Koebel (she/her). Edited by: Etienne Maes (he/him). Presently, there is no law governing abortion in Canada. Abortions are currently regulated through provincial/territorial and professional bodies (1), but this has not always been the case. Canada’s first criminal code was passed in 1892 and it contained laws prohibiting…
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Abortion Narratives – Part 1
By: Anonymous In February 2020, weeks before the beginning of lockdowns and months before I’d graduate nursing school, I found out I was 6 weeks pregnant. I told myself that those two pink lines were false, there was no way I was pregnant. But then the past few weeks of…
